How the Mafia Took Over Mykonos

Meanwhile, the construction continues. The island’s last quiet, secluded spots, known only to locals, are being snapped up relentlessly by developers. The economic benefits are enormous: the total turnover of hotels on Mykonos is €750m (£627m) a year.

Two-thirds of that comes from five-star hotels. There are now 73 on an island that covers just 33 square miles. Together, the five-star hotels offer 7,500 beds – the island’s permanent population is just 11,000.

In the Bay of Panormos, on the island’s northern coast, a large stretch of silky sand has been colonized by a chic beach club. Authorities last year fined it €22 million for illegal construction, but the owners have appealed.

When The Telegraph visited, the club was in full swing, with staff setting up umbrellas and preparing for the arrival of big-spending guests.

“Four or five years ago there was nothing here. Traditionally this is where a lot of people from Mykonos would come with their children. A lot of them don’t come anymore,” said the anti-development campaigner from Friends of Mykonos, who has lived there for decades. “It’s in your face. People on the island complain about it all the time. They went crazy when the beach chairs almost covered the whole beach.”

It’s a similar story at Kalo Livadi Bay on the island’s south side, where the valley behind the beach is now filled with whitewashed villas and half-finished developments. A hill overlooking the bay has been gutted by excavators to make way for a huge new Four Seasons resort.

What little remains of ‘old Mykonos’ is unlikely to survive the onslaught of posh hotels and sushi bars for much longer.

A glimpse of what the island might once have looked like can be had at Kalafatis Bay, where a crescent of sand is set against a backdrop of a cluster of makeshift fishermen’s cottages and two small hills known as ‘Aphrodite’s Breasts’.

Fishermen repair their boats and cats lounge in the shade. It’s a scene straight out of the movie Mamma Mia! – but this too is planned for a large hotel development. There is no criminal wrongdoing in these projects, but they certainly contribute to the overdevelopment of the island.

‘It’s spoiled now’

Dimitris Koutsoukos, the deputy mayor, admits that construction has gotten out of hand. The island’s authorities say they have almost no control over planning issues – they say it is the government in Athens that decides whether to allow or block developments.

“There was no planning. People didn’t think about parking, about roads, they just kept building, building. It’s too much for a small island. And where there’s money, crime follows,” he said.

Its iconic windmills, picturesque coves and expensive cocktail bars still draw tourists in droves. But rampant construction threatens to undermine the appeal of “the island that seduced the world,” as described in a photo exhibition in Mykonos Town.

“I don’t think it’s been destroyed yet, but we’re very close. It’s very sad,” said the anti-development campaigner from Friends of Mykonos.

She is more direct in her language as she watches an excavator prepare the ground for a new development.

“For people like me, who grew up in Mykonos, it is now spoiled. We hope that someone will say ‘enough’, stop raping the land. Let’s keep it for our children, let’s not destroy it.

“If we’re not careful, it’s going to end up like Mexico City, with people living behind high walls and big gates, protected by bodyguards. There will be several small empires run by unsavory people. Nobody wants that.”